


Flower to Flower

by sapphirebluerubyredroses



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Ronan gets slapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-11
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-02-08 09:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1935918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphirebluerubyredroses/pseuds/sapphirebluerubyredroses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blue keeps finding flowers everywhere from her bedroom to Nino's. She knows who has been leaving them for her to find, and when they end up spending some time alone, she has a right to be worried.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flower to Flower

**Author's Note:**

> So, I started writing this about half way through Dream Thieves, and didn't finish it till the end. It was a couple months after that that I finally got around to posting this on Fanfiction. There are probably a few mistakes that I missed, but I'm hoping that I caught most of them and fixed most of the discrepancies.
> 
> I also have an account on Fanfiction under sapphire blue-ruby red roses and on Tumblr under shutupandshipit where this has been posted

Blue pushed open her window gently, letting the cool damp air rush in and fill her room. Ozone saturated air encircled her, filling her lungs. She breathed deeply, sighing in contentment.

Letting her eyes fall down, they locked on a small blue flower. Picking up the flower, she examined the soft leaves covered in peach fuzz. Small, bendable thorns covered the forest green stem. The stem was void of leaves, and only made the petals all the more vibrant. Pressing the flower to her nose, the loveliest of smells greeted her. She couldn't pin the smell though, something between lemon and tea.

The roar of the Pig and Calla's shout broke her from her reverie. Jerking her head up, she found the Pig sliding up to the curb. She hid the flower quickly behind her back. She didn't know why, but she didn't want Gansey catching a glimpse of it. Somehow, it felt like a private gift.

"Jane!" Gansey called from his hideously orange car, staring up at her with a grin, "Do you want to come with us?" From the back seat, Adam smiled and waved up at her. Noah leaned across him to do the same. Ronan leaned over Gansey, catching her eye.

Her breath caught in her throat despite herself, heat crawling up the back of her neck. He knew. Somehow, he knew about the flower. Somehow, he had been the one to place the flower there. Finally, after a silent staring match, Ronan shouted up at her, "Hey, princess, nice jammies. I can see right through them."

Slapping an arm over her breasts, her face burning, she snarled, "I'll be down in five." She slammed the window shut and flung the curtains closed before ripping off her clothes and pulling on her jeans filled with holes from years of wear, black boots and a patchwork sweater over her bra. All the time, she was muttering about teenage boys with no sense. She tossed the flower on her dresser.

Stomping her way down the stairs, she called out, "I'm going out with the boys!"

"Be home before the witching hour," Persephone told her as she raced past the reading room.

"Ha! Ha!" Blue laughed without humor, flinging the front door open.

"Calla's going to try scrying again, and Mr. Gray is coming over for dinner," Persephone told her in that quiet way of hers, more serious than usual.

Blue was quiet for a moment, staring at Persephone. "I'll be home before midnight," she promised. Slamming the front door closed, she trampled down the stairs, catching herself on the driver's side door, and leaned in towards Ronan. "You are an asshole. You could not see through my clothes, jerk."

"Yes, I could. Your bra is striped black and neon blue with black and blue lace along the edges and as the wings," he replied. His eyes flicked up to her, challenging.

"Nuh uh," she growled back childishly before pausing. She pulled her sweater forward and stared down it. "How the hell did you know that? Wait, how do you know what the wings of a bra are?"

Ronan sneered. "I know what your panties look like too."

"You can't possibly know that!"

"They match your bra except that the stripes are horizontal and the lace is only black. The stripes are about an inch thick."

Blue pulled out her pants just enough to check, but not enough that the boys could see. She glanced up at Ronan. "No, seriously, how did you know that?"

The other boys stared between them, their eyes wide and flicking from Blue to Ronan and back.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ronan's smile was as sharp as a sword as he clambered into the back, shoving Noah into the middle.

Glaring at him, she rounded the car and fell into the passenger seat. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Food, then Cabeswater," Gansey explained vaguely as he pulled into the road. A frown curved down the corners of his lips, and finally, at a red light, he turned to look at her. "Are you wearing perfume?"

Blue frowned back. "No, I never do, are you saying I need to?" She was already beginning to bristle with indignation.

Gansey shook his head, "No, you just smell… different."

Adam nodded in the review mirror as Noah mumbled, "I smell it too." Ronan stayed silent, covertly averting his eyes to Chainsaw who was flapping around in his lap.

"Is it a bad smell?" Blue asked, a little worried.

"No, it smells like tea and-" Gansey began.

"Lemon," Adam finished.

Blue's eyes went wide. Pulling her sweater forward, she took a deep breath of her clothes, and sure enough, she did smell like the flower. The flowers scent had clung to her as readily as mist to leaves.

Chainsaw croaked quietly at her from the backseat. Ronan set her down on the shoulder rest, and she immediately burrowed herself into the fluff of Blue's hair. She snuggled down, pressing in against the crook Blue's neck.

Blue, grinning softly, leaned her head against Chainsaw, letting the little raven nuzzle her.

"She likes the smell," Ronan said from the back, his warm breath fanning across her neck as he leaned forward to pet Chainsaw. His fingers brushed against her skin, sending a shock down her spine.

Goose-bumps prickled along her skin, and she had to force herself not to shiver. Adam and Gansey watched the scene out of the corner of their eyes, jealousy burning in their chests. It seemed like a joke that Ronan could get away with what they wanted without getting into trouble, but it was probably **because** he was Ronan that he could.

…..

Blue held the small purple blossom in her cupped hands, reveling in the unreal-ness of it. The still tightly sealed elongated petals wound together, ending in a long point that dipped down to brush against her wrist. The long tip was neon pink, the same color as the small leaves prickling from its base.

Just as the first one had had an amazing scent, so did this one. It smelled similar to that first flower with a bit of a woody scent thrown in.

"What's that?" one of Blue's nosy classmates asked, leaning over her shoulder to get a good look into her hands, "Where did you get that? It has to be fake."

"I found it on my desk. It's a flower blossom," Blue replied, choosing to ignore the obvious annoyance that rose up in her at the girl's words. She closed her hands protectively around it. She didn't want any of the others ruining it. Outside, a raven that sounded suspiciously like Chainsaw croaked her approval.

"Do you know who put it there? Do you have a secret admirer or maybe a stalker? That would be so cool! Was it that guy in Trig? Or maybe one of those hot Aglionby Boys I see you running around with sometimes? Are you dating one of them?" the girl asked eagerly, searching for a little snippet of gossip. She leaned towards Blue intrusively, grinning widely.

Choosing to forgo most of the questions, Blue answered the first with a cryptic, "It was left by someone who dreams of the impossible and brings it to life."

The girl frowned in annoyance before continuing with her nagging, unanswered questions.

…..

For the rest of the week, she continued to find flowers of all shapes and sizes, colors and textures, in the most unlikely of places. Once, she'd headed into the kitchen at Nino's to discover a Halloween orange flower shaped like a witches hat connected to an ink black stem sitting in her locker. She'd worn it for the rest of the night, sporting a smile hidden behind a smirk. Another time, she'd stepped out of the shower in only a towel to find a gold and white spotted sunflower waiting for her outside the bathroom door.

Her room was now an array of colors and textures. So far, none of the flowers had so much as wilted. They were vibrant and beautiful, and letting off so much of Ronan's essence that the women of 300 Fox Way had developed perpetual headaches and had collectively decided to avoid Blue's room at all cost.

Blue was reveling in the scents swirling around her and the warm sunlight spilling from her open window, considering the possibilities they had for finding Maura, when Persephone knocked politely on her door. She pushed it open and murmured in her ever quiet voice, "Blue, Gansey is on the phone. He sounds a little frantic."

"Did he say why?" she asked, even as she got to her feet and took the cordless Persephone held out to her, pressing it to her ear. She could hear Adam and Noah attempting to talk over the roar of the Pig.

"Something about the Creating One, I'm not sure," Persephone told her before taking off down the hall.

Blue pushed her door closed and began to pull on suitable clothing for an excursion beyond 300 Fox Way. "Did you break your thumb again?" she asked without greeting.

"No," Gansey told her coolly.

"What happened? Persephone said you sounded frantic, but I can't hear it at all. Are you frantic?"

"No."

"Is there any specific reason you called while driving, or did you just want to have a nice little chat?" she asked, dropping onto the end of her bed to pull on her shoes.

"I was hoping you'd go check on Ronan."

"Why?"

"Well, I've been calling over and over. We're coming to pick him up, but I'm not sure if he is at Monmouth right now. I was going to call you next after I called him."

Blue paused, staring at the first flower she'd gotten that was settled in the middle of the bouquet she'd accumulated. "Okay, and you want me to do… what?" Her insides clenched with anxiety, curling and contracting at the thought of being alone with Ronan. It wasn't a good feeling, but it wasn't a bad feeling either.

"Wake him up or get him sober," Gansey said slowly, treading lightly, "If you would, please."

Blue had the distinct feeling that Gansey, Adam and Noah were doing this on purpose mainly out of convenience, as a sort of experiment. What their purpose in leaving her alone with Ronan was? She wasn't sure. But she was sure that the time would be interesting.

Sighing silently, Blue tried to flush out the anxiety building in her chest. "Yeah, sure, I'll do it. How far away are you guys?"

"About two hours out. We'll be back sometime soon."

"Alright." Ending the call, Blue tucked a tiny, white carnation looking flower behind her ear and trampled downstairs. She dropped the phone in its cradle, and was out the door, moving towards Monmouth Manufacturing at a slow jog.

…..

"Ronan! Hey, jerk, you here anywhere?" Blue called as she jiggled the doorknob and lifted the door. She'd learned the trick from Noah when she hadn't wanted to be at home, but no one was around. The door swung open, creaking ominously on its hinges. "You better not be dead in here! I don't want to have to clean you up!" Frowning, she glanced around the floor, bending to retrieve some of the objects that had been left haphazardly around the space.

"Shut up! Why do you have to be so goddamn loud? Why the hell are you here?"

Ronan's irate voice brought Blue up short. She stood up straight, standing beside Gansey's mini-Henrietta that he'd repaired after the break-in. She glanced up at him with wide eyes, not having expected him to turn up so quickly.

Blinking slowly, boredom dulling his eyes, Ronan said without enthusiasm, "Why the hell are you here?" Sleep had weakened what little manners he possessed. He stood in his doorway in only a low slung pair of boxers under a black muscle shirt that was riding up so that a long strip of pale Irish skin showed. His hand was hidden behind his back, concealing what he'd brought out.

The familiar scent of lemons and boxwood and tea greeted her. She immediately knew what he was hiding, and wanted to see this new creation. They stared at each other for a long silent moment. He knew that she knew, and she knew that he knew.

"To get you up and sober for whenever Gansey, Adam and Noah show up," Blue replied dryly, wishing she could see the new creation hidden behind his back, "Are you sober? Or do I have to force you into a cold shower?"

Without replying, Ronan turned on his heel, managing to keep the creation out of her view. He grumbled his way into his room, Blue close behind him. He tossed what he held in his hand onto his messy, unmade bed and searched his floor for a relatively clean pair of jeans.

Scrambling onto the rumpled covers, she gently picked up the royal blue flower with thick pointed petals that bloomed out and drooped away from its center. In its center was a thin, yellow stamen that sparked whitely. The scent that curled up towards her was Ronan's scent, boxwood and lemons, like his home. Underneath was the scent of musk and the grasses that surrounded the Barns, incense and tea. Somehow, the flower was a mix of both Blue and Ronan.

Gasping, feeling eyes on her, Blue flipped onto her back, clutching the flower to her chest. She stared up at him in slight surprise, though she shouldn't have been. This was his room after all, and she had walked in with him.

"You really shouldn't go crawling into people's beds. You may not crawl out innocent next time," Ronan advised, focusing his stare on her as Chainsaw landed on his shoulder, "Gansey may be content to just let appealing bodies sit on his bed, but I'm not Gansey."

Blue's eyes narrowed, her temper flaring as she pushed herself to her feet. She wanted to spit that she knew he wasn't the straightest arrow in the quiver, but that felt rather cruel. What was growled out of her mouth instead was, "Was that a threat?" The flower in her hand sparked recklessly as they drew nearer to each other.

"No," Ronan told her simply, turning on his heel, "That's a promise."

Blue, her cheeks burning neon pink, hurried after him, slamming the door as hard as she could manage.

…..

"We're going to the Barns," Ronan announced as they crossed the expanse that was Gansey's space, heading towards the door.

"We?" she questioned, the flower still clutched against her chest sparking feebly, "Don't you mean yourself? And what about the others? Gansey is going to be pissed when he gets back and finds you gone, **again**." Since Kavinsky's death, it seemed as if the boys had been playing an endless game of hide-n-seek. Sometimes the game turned into a game of tag.

"He's going to be even more pissed when he realizes that you went with me." Ronan pulled open the door, holding it for her to exit. "Leave the flower on Gansey's desk."

"Fine," Blue grumbled, reluctantly dropping the flower next to Gansey's mint plant. She followed Ronan out and down to the BMW. "When did you start suddenly deciding where I go? And why are you trying to piss off Gansey?"

"Because angry-Gansey is something I rarely get to see," he explained, sliding into the driver's seat and popping the door open on the passenger side.

Blue raised an eyebrow at him. "And you like that? You realize you're a serious masochist, right?" Again, the urge to remind him about his straight-as-a-circle status rose up. It took more effort to quell it this time than it had the last.

His only response was a smile that could cut through the thickest shield. He punched the gas, peeling out of the parking lot. Blue was thrown back into the seat, her knuckles turning white against the vinyl.

"Slow down," she gritted out.

He smiled wickedly. "No."

…..

"Why are we here?" Blue stepped out of the BMW into drizzling rain and knee high grass. The cow that had been in the field on all of their visits to the Barns had, of course, not moved an inch since then. Ronan's family home loomed in the distance, a sentient being.

Ronan appeared beside her, his expression unreadable. "I had a dream," he said vaguely because he could have dreamed about anything. Adam, his mother, his father, Gansey, anything. He took the first steps towards the house. "And I wanted to check on my mother."

They quietly entered the house, conscious of every noise they made, as if there was actually anything awake to hear them. The scent of the house, of the flower's, Ronan's scent, hit Blue full on, nearly knocking her over. It was lovely and terrible. It had her blood rushing, warming her to the core. Ronan's scent had the same effect on her now as Gansey's did, which worried her more than she cared to admit.

She followed behind Ronan, watching for his reaction. They stepped into the sitting room where Aurora Lynch used to slumber. Now, it was where she read, though it was presently empty of anything living creature.

Ronan twisted away from the room, stalking off to another part of the house. Blue heard him bumping around the upper floor and back down the stairs to the ground floor.

Closing the door quietly, Blue entered the dining room to find Ronan, fists balled at his sides, glaring at the wall. He struck out with a furious cry, the knuckles of his hand smashing into the wooden mask that hung on the wall. They came away torn and tattered while the mask stayed immaculate. Over and over again, his fists crashed into the mask.

He snarled under his breath, words almost indistinguishable, "Why did you have to die? Why does he have to die in my dreams every night?"

Blue could only stand back and watch. The first time they'd come to the Barns, a similar occurrence had happened. It was a never ending cycle of events, it seemed. Though Ronan was a much happier and more appealing person to be around, he was still Ronan, and that came with the anger he harbored for what seemed like everything. Ronan's anger was so much brighter, longer lasting, more potent than Adam's had been the first time he'd snapped at Saint Agnes. Another key difference was that Ronan's anger did not cause Blue fear.

Finally, his fists fell back to his sides as the mask finally shattered with a shriek. His arms hung limp and sweat slipped down his forehead. "I think we should go now," Blue spoke up, watching him for another outburst, but all his anger had fizzled out.

Wordlessly, he passed her into the kitchen. She turned to follow, but was instead greeted with dry, cracked lips pressing against hers. Ronan's hand travelled up, cupping the back of her neck while the other pressed against the crook of her neck.

Electricity coursed through her body, rooting her in place. Without permission, her eyes slipped closed and her hands pressed against his chest, balling his shirt in loose fists. She kissed him back fervently, their mouths moving together. Her body tingled with warmth and sparks of energy, a different energy than her brand.

So this was what it felt like to kiss a living person, not just the ghost of a friend.

Kissing Ronan was nothing like it had been to kiss Noah or to kiss the dream-tree-Gansey. It felt illicit and illegal, and sweet and tender. It was sensual and desirable, honest and unobtainable. They kissed like lovers going off to war and death. Their kiss was unbearably hot and deathly cold all at the same time.

Ronan's hand slid up, tangling in the raven black strands of her hair. His head tilted just enough so he could get better leverage, deepening the kiss even more than it already had been.

The moment was over as suddenly as it had begun. Blue shoved against his chest, pushing him away forcefully. The kiss broken, they stared at each other in surprise, Ronan's hands still in her hair and on her neck, Blue's still balled in his shirt. They parted in sync, their chests rising and falling in rapid succession. Without warning, Blue's hand lashed out, cracking against the side of his face. Chainsaw squawked indignantly, picking at Blue's clothes.

"You stupid jerk," Blue whispered, voice choked, ignoring the raven, "Why the hell did you do that?" Tears carved tracks down her face, hot and terrible.

Startled, Ronan looked at a loss for what to do. Finally, he settled for making an attempt to wipe away the tears, the leather bands around his wrist brushing softly against the sensitive skin of her cheek. "I'm sorry," he murmured, holding her face in his hands, unable to do a thing more due to his absolute lack of knowledge about females and comforting people.

Her words shuddering violently, Blue whispered, "You need to take me home. Now."

Pulling her into a tight, apologetic hug that would be their first and only, he repeated, "I'm sorry." He pressed his nose into her hair before releasing her and leading her from the home.

…..

"Gansey!" Adam called up to where Gansey was in the bathroom washing his hands, "Gansey! Your cell is ringing!"

"Pick it up, would you, Adam?" Gansey shouted back, flicking water off his hands into the sink before drying the excess off on his jeans that he had resorted to wearing after not finding any clean clothes on his floor. Almost running down the stairs, he asked, "Who is it?"

"Mr. Gray, Persephone and Calla. Calla and Persephone are screaming, Mr. Grey is… well, talking, but not anything pleasant. I have no idea what they are pissed about," Adam told him, holding the phone away from his ear. Sure enough, Gansey could hear the two women's synchronized screams from across the room. He held the phone out to Gansey, hoping for him to take it.

Gansey accepted the phone, tentatively pressing it to his ear. "Calla, Persephone, please calm down. What's the matter?"

"What did you do to Blue?!" Calla screeched, her voice the loudest out of the three participants.

Even so, he could hear Persephone mutter darkly, "I'm going to go make a voodoo doll and start on a curse. Mr. Gray, would you like to help?"

"Of course," Mr. Gray agreed jovially.

"Please wait a moment," Gansey said anxiously, hoping to stop them just in case they were being serious, "Just tell me what I did first. We didn't even get back until around twenty minutes ago."

Silence.

Finally, Mr. Gray spoke up. "When Blue returned about…" He paused as if he were checking a watch. "…forty-five minutes ago, her eyes were red and swollen. She looked as if she'd been crying. She won't talk to anyone."

"I swear to all of the powers above, if you hurt our little girl-" Calla cut in, but Gansey cut her off.

"Blue was crying? Why? I only talked to her earlier. She's been with Ronan for the past two hours…" His words trailed off as realization dawned on him. Immediately, he began a manhunt for the culprit. "Ronan!" he shouted, kicking in said teen's door, "Ronan, where are you?"

"The snake?" Calla spat aggressively, "What did he do to her?"

All parties went silent as Blue's voice filtered through the speaker, calm and broken. "Calla, give me the phone, please. I'd like to talk to Gansey."

"But-" Calla began.

"Calla," Blue cut her off earnestly, "The phone, please."

Ronan's bedroom was completely empty except for a small white flower. He picked it up, taking to examining it. It was unusual, and an obvious dream object. Gansey wondered when Ronan had begun to dream of such pretty things.

There was silence on the other end of the line. Gansey asked, "Blue, are you still there?" A door closed.

Her voice cracked as she whispered, "Yeah, I'm here."

"What happened? What did Ronan do? Mr. Gray said that you returned home crying," Gansey asked, concern plain in his voice. He shouldn't have asked her to check on Ronan, leaving them alone. It was a stupid idea, a stupid experiment. He exited Ronan's domain, holding the flower up for Adam and Noah's inspection. In response, Noah held up a royal blue flower that's stamen sparked irregularly.

Her voice broke. "I don't know what to do, Gansey. What if he dies because of me? Gansey, what do I do?" The way she said his name was desperate, and broke him ever so slightly. He never wanted to hear her like this. He was going to kill Ronan when they saw him next. He could hear her slowly sliding down her door.

"Blue, I don't understand. Who are you talking about? What happened?"

"I love him like a friend, but what if he still dies?" she babbled, her words disappearing in a torrent of sobbing though she continued making sounds that somewhat resembled speaking.

"Blue," Gansey said sternly, trying to pause her mouth before she said something she didn't want to, "Calm down. Who did what? What happened?"

Silence, then, "Ronan kissed me." Her voice was muffled as if she had pulled up her shirt to cover her mouth and nose. "I don't want him to die. What if he does? I don't want that. I don't want that at all."

Gansey went silent, his wide eyes staring at nothing. Ronan had kissed Blue. Blue had kissed Ronan. What kind of twisted world was he living in? "Don't worry, Jane, Ronan's not going to die," he told her, finding words somewhere in his addled brain as he made his way back to the bathroom and locked himself in it, "You said it yourself, he's not your true love. You love him like a friend, you told me that."

"Why the hell did he do that?" she shouted, anger finally showing itself, "Why did he think that was a good idea? Who does he think he is? Isn't he supposed to be gay? Can we please stay consistent, or are we just going to keep jumping back and forth over the fence?" Her voice had risen in volume, overpowering any background noise that could have possible been going on.

"Jane, calm down. He didn't know. I don't know if that would have stopped him, but he doesn't know," Gansey tried to reason with her, "Ronan is the only one that hasn't heard your secret yet. He just didn't know, and I think saying that he is gay may be a little farfetched. I think he just straddles the fence." Silently, he wondered why, exactly, they discussing Ronan's sexual preferences. Did it really matter? It wouldn't undo what he'd done.

"That doesn't change what he did!" she shouted back, "If I wouldn't kiss Adam, if I can't kiss you, I sure as hell shouldn't kiss him!"

The difference in word choice that she had used for the three of them did not escape Gansey's keen ear. Wouldn't. Can't. Shouldn't. What did she mean by that? Was there something he'd been missing the entire time? Had something happened that he hadn't heard about? Not likely, but it was always possible.

Before he could reply, another broken sob crashed through the phone's speaker. "God, why me? Why not someone else?" Blue whispered miserably. Gentle notes floated past her sobs.

"Blue, what's the matter now?"

"I have to go."

"Blue-" The line went dead. Marching out of the bathroom and down the stairs, his shoes clanging against the metal, Gansey announced, "We're going to Blue's."

…..

"Mr. Gray, can we see Blue?" Gansey asked as Mr. Gray, Calla and Persephone collectively answered the door. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable seeing how quickly Mr. Gray had integrated himself into the little group of women. It was as if he'd always been there, just like it felt like Blue had always been in his little group of king seekers. Though the three were the most livid, all of the women who occupied 300 Fox Way seemed to have directed all of their hatred towards the three boys standing on their porch.

"Is the snake with you?" Calla hissed.

"No," Noah replied quietly, hiding behind Adam's and Gansey's touching shoulders.

The trio stepped aside, allowing them to pass. "You are permitted to enter. Blue's in her room. Watch out for traps," Persephone told them, a small smile twisting up the corners of her mouth.

"Thank you." The three boys climbed the stairs quickly, somehow managing to avoid the oil slick and trip wire along the way, and only paused long enough to rap lightly on the door before pushing it open. They found themselves in a florist's wonderland, or nightmare. Blue was curled around a flower on her bed, sleeping. Still wet tears glinted on her cheeks, one droplet slipping onto the flower, turning the spot pure, snow white. The spot faded slowly back to the sad blue after a pause. A soft, sad lullaby floated through the flowers and around the occupants.

Gansey got the distinct feeling that the melody was meant for apologizing.

"Where's the singing coming from?" Adam whispered, staring at Blue longingly.

With an idea already flowing in his mind, Gansey moved and gently plucked the new flower from Blue's grasp. It immediately turned black, the lullaby coming to a halt. With a frown, he returned the flower to Blue's hands. It returned to the sad blue it had been, and the singing resumed where it had left off. "I think we found the source. Very interesting," Gansey murmured, glancing over his shoulder at Adam, "Do you have that other flower?"

Adam handed him the sparking flower without question, watching questioningly as Gansey turned back towards Blue.

He slipped the flower back into her fingers, the sparks immediately jumping back to life. As he brushed hair back from her forehead, tanned fingers sliding against pale skin, the sparks became a continuous stream like a sparkler lit on the Fourth of July.

Pulling back his hand in surprise, the sparks died. The sparks burst to life when he replaced his hand. Adam and Gansey threw each other surprised looks.

Stepping forward, Adam placed his hand over Blue's. Gansey removed his, stepping back. The sparked died to a low, sputtering flame. A sad, disappointed look crossed his face before he pulled back his hand.

Noah took his place. The sparks died completely, the flower stilling. A thin layer of frost crept over the petals. His hand snapped back as if he'd been burned. He laughed nervously, flickering.

Blue, sucking in a deep breath, blinked blurrily up at the trio. Tears began to pool in her eyes, and the boys stepped forward worriedly. She sat up slowly, and pressed her face into Gansey's abdomen, sliding an arm around his waist. She was silent, but her shoulders quaked uncontrollably. The flower came to life in her hand.

Jealously rose in Adam like an ugly, rabid dog. Jealously at Gansey for being the one Blue clung to for comfort. Jealously at Ronan for having gotten the kiss he'd hoped for, for as long as he'd known Blue. Jealousy because he knew she'd never cried for him like that before. Would she though? If something terrible happened to him, would she?

The buzzing of Gansey's phone brought him back from his emotions. Gansey and Blue, still in a tight embrace, were oblivious to the cell. Sighing, Adam plucked it from Gansey's back pocket and pressed it to his ear, "Hello?" He felt like a babysitter.

"Hey, where the fuck are all of you? I'd thought you'd be back by now," came Ronan's perpetually anger filled, sleep softened, slurred voice. Springs creaked in the background, and Adam could only assume that he had just awoken from whatever hellish slumber had consumed him. Where he'd been while the three of them had been at Monmouth, he wouldn't know.

"Where do you think, jackass?" Adam spat, voice harsh, "We're at Blue's."

Ronan was silent.

"Either get over here," Adam threatened, "Or we're going there." It took a short moment for him to realize that Ronan had hung up. "Asshole," Adam muttered under his breath.

He slid the phone back into Gansey's back pocket, and this time, the pair glanced up at him. "What are we doing?" Blue sniffled, wiping at her tears with her sleeve, but Gansey took over using the hem of his shirt.

"Well, Ronan's back. I think we should all go over to Monmouth," Adam suggested, agitatedly running fingers through his hair.

Blue looked a little stricken and sickened at the idea, but Gansey nodded in agreement. "Yes, I believe we need to get this straightened out."

"Okay," Blue muttered, resigning herself as she crawled from her bed and forlornly pulled on her boots.

…..

"Ronan, we need to talk!" Gansey called as they entered Monmouth Manufacturing's 2nd floor, glaring pointedly at the half open door of Ronan's room.

Ronan, drunk to the point that he could barely walk, stumbled from his room, yet another flower clutched in his hand. He leaned heavily against the doorframe, grinning stupidly. The smile fell away as his eyes locked with Blue's. He straightened unsteadily, watching her cautiously. Guilt tugged at his heart, she'd been crying.

Before the others could say a word, Ronan stumbled over to the group and pushed the flower into Gansey's fingers. It flared to burning gold from the depthless black it had been before. A gasp ran through the group.

Noah reached out, pulling the flower into his fingers. The flower turned a burnt orange with a sheen of frost over the petals.

The flower was passed to Adam. The flower turned a misty, mysterious light blue. Confusion lit his face, but he still passed the flower to last, but not least, Blue.

The flower darkened to a deep red-purple. The color was passionate and lovely, and spoke of all the feelings Ronan couldn't rightly express in his own words.

He was there in front of her in a moment, placing the flower in her hair. He pulled her into a close hug. His words were warm on her ear as he murmured, "I'm sorry for what I did." After a moment, he whispered, "I'll see you in my dreams."

The flower blushed for the embarrassed Blue, lightening to a rose pink, as she tried not to look at the other boys. "I know," she told him.

"And I thought you should know," he whispered in the same tone of voice, "I'm a little gay." He pulled away from her, throwing his head back as he laughed at her expression.

"Why did you have to ruin the moment like that?" she shouted at him, but couldn't help joining in on his laughter. High above in the steel beams, Chainsaw cawed happily.


End file.
